The idea that latent karma can be dissipated in the fire of enlightenment is fundamental to this book’s intention. The fire we are speaking of is that which cleanses consciousness, purges negative habits, and purifies intentions. This is not only an Eastern but a Western teaching, also found in Western Scripture and teachings, as exemplified in these quotations:
Our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:29
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Matthew 3:10
Fire is often a metaphor for the Spirit, especially the cleansing Spirit that burns up karma and its reappearing influences, leaving one renewed and strong. In this book we will study the “Fruits of the Spirit,” which are those practices and dispositions that contain the seeds of the Spirit and, when enlivened through application in our daily lives and nurtured in our innermost being, ignite the cleansing Spirit. We will also learn about the magical power of Grace and its role in our soul growth and mental enlightenment.
Fundamental to the teaching of karma is the responsive nature of thought, word, and action. The motivating influence generating thoughts, words, and actions creates a corresponding response. If the intention is in harmony with the Creative Forces, then so-called good karma results. If the intention is destructive or out of harmony with the universal life force and the ideal pattern for all life, then bad karma results.
It is important to understand that the response is neutral; in other words, it is without passion. A simple universal law governs it: Whatever we do with our free will—in thought, word, or action—comes back upon us. The response is not motivated by retribution or punishment but by the Grace of the Divine to educate and enlighten. The law is intended to help the doer better grasp his or her effect upon self, others, and the whole of creation.
We express our knowledge of this law when we say “what goes around comes around” and “be careful what you wish for.” In our sacred Scriptures we find: “An eye for an eye”; “As you sow, so shall you reap”; and “With what measure you measure, so shall it be measured to you.” These sayings articulate the law of karma. Even scientists observe that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
The law is unavoidable and immutable. Jesus taught that not one jot will be erased from the law and warned that those who teach otherwise are deceiving themselves and others. (Matthew 5:18)
There is an old saying whose origin is lost in antiquity, but Tryon Edwards, a theologian in the 1800s, republished it. It reveals the creative process of karma:
Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
We are what we have thought, spoken, and done. Our destiny is the karma of our previous thoughts, words, and actions; but more than that, it is a habit pattern that we are building. And, as with most habits, it will be difficult to stop. Our motivations, expectations, and concerns (even fears) shape our inner and outer reality. Fortunately, the law is ever in effect, and therefore we can change our tomorrows and our character by engaging better thoughts, words, and actions today.
Karma does not always result as an immediate response. It may lie dormant within the heart and mind and on an etheric fabric of the collective consciousness until some stimulant awakens it. Often this response comes in a future experience and new setting, possibly even with different souls from those with whom it originated, although it is more likely that they are the same souls but with new personalities in different settings. The outer self often feels unfairly put upon, having no memory of the origins of these responses, habits, and character traits. And although they are innate, the outer self rarely comprehends their presence, because karma belongs to the deeper self, the soul self. In one respect, karma is deep memory, within both the individual and the collective memory. Since the outer mind is often focused on current situations, it does not see the whole of soul life and soul karma—it lives on this side of a veil that separates inner consciousness from physical consciousness. In some ways this is a blessing because it removes the weight of guilt, fear, and self-condemnation. In other ways it is painful and confusing because the outer self cannot understand why these things are happening and where its poor habits come from. But the lesson to be learned is not so much for the outer, earthly self but for the inner, eternal soul, and the soul learns through the senses of the outer self. Of course, if the outer and inner selves have made progress toward cooperation and reunion, then both may know and understand what is going on—and the veil that separates them becomes less opaque.
When thinking of karma, it is important to realize that its influence is not only in the deeper consciousness but also inside the physical body, in the “mind” of the body’s cells, tissues, and organs, or what is often called “body memory.” The incarnating soul brings its karma with it and distributes its influence throughout the body as it enters at birth into the nervous systems (cerebrospinal and sympathetic-parasympathetic, which correspond to the Yogic sushumna and ida-pingala) and the endocrine glands (which correlate with the chakras and lotuses). The incarnating soul influences the genes of the physical body, turning on certain genes while leaving others off, and this may change throughout the incarnation. How one attends to the physical temple of the soul affects the temple’s condition, both now and in the future. Good health is often good karma. Poor health is often a result of bad karma—though not always, as we shall see later.
Why is there a universal system of cause and effect? The metaphysical answer is that the original, infinite, immortal, perfect consciousness burst into creative expression and then allowed the creation to unfold freely as it expanded. It conceived of countless points of consciousness within its universal consciousness, giving each free will. The universal consciousness knew the potential for disharmony, confusion, and even chaos . . . but also the wondrous potential for joy, love, and enlightenment. In order to keep the creative process from spinning completely out of control, a simple law was established: Free-willed expression must know the consequences of expression. The Creator imbued each individual consciousness with an inner sense of the ideal universal condition. The law helps each entity to adjust its motivations, behavior, and character development as it learns from the consequences of its thoughts, words, and actions. The deeper mind is the builder, and it is always correlating thoughts, words, and actions with the ideal established by the Creator—seeking to ultimately be a companion to the Creator, thus striving to become companionable and in harmony with the ideal.
All of this becomes difficult to grasp when perceived from a finite, temporary perspective. Soul life is on a much grander scale and timeless, as compared to one eighty-to-a-hundred-year incarnation. And yet the soul’s opportunity for resolving karma lies within the choices, behavior, and character development of the present incarnation. The finite experience is an opportunity to improve the infinite, eternal experience.
In day-to-day physical life, we easily forget that we were created to be companions and co-creators with the infinite First One, the Creator, out of whom all originally found life and consciousness. God created us in love to know each other and share life. In order to realize this, God gave us free will, the ability to independently choose to be companions. Without free will, we could only become children, subordinates, automatons, or loving servants but not true companions. . . companions choose to be with you and commit through thick and thin, in good times and bad.
Before the gift of free will was given, God set up a simple yet powerful universal law—Whatever one does with free will, one will experience—not as punishment or retribution but as education and enlightenment, that one may know the effects of one’s thoughts, words, and actions.
How, then, can any of us survive our mistakes